A MAN has been convicted of raping an au pair in Hendon over 30 years ago.

Billy Roy Day, of Oakdene Road in Uxbridge, was found guilty of the offence, which he committed on December 7, 1984, in Shirehall Lane Park, Hendon, at a trial at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.

The victim, who was 19 at the time, had only been in London for around six weeks when she made arrangements to go to the cinema with a friend.

At about 7.30pm, while walking through Shirehall Lane Park, she was attacked by a man who suggested he had a knife and raped her.

Day was also convicted on one count of buggery and one count of indecent assault on the same victim.

He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, September 2.

Despite an investigation to identify and arrest the suspect at the time, no leads were found and the victim returned to her native country shortly afterwards.

In 2013, advances in DNA analysis allowed the case to be reopened as Day’s DNA profile was found on the victim’s clothing from the evening of the incident.

He was interviewed on August 20 that year, but refused to answer any questions. He was then charged with rape and indecent assault.

The case was reinvestigated by detectives from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command’s complex case team who, through the assistance of Europol, were able to track down the victim and flew to her home country to inform her of the development.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Gary Farrelly said: “It was highly rewarding to be able to locate the victim and tell her after all these years the man who had so brutally attacked her had been identified and arrested.

“I hope this case gives other victims of rape and sexual offences the confidence to report crime to the police so we can investigate, and demonstrates we are committed to bringing offenders to justice, whatever the passage of time.

“I would like to take this opportunity thank police colleagues overseas, who provided immense support to the victim and the overall investigation.”

Anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse can call the NHS support line for free at 0808 1689 111 or send them a confidential message here.

Police can be contacted by phone at 101 or in an emergency 999.